St Barbara, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

Some books call this church a cathedral, but I can find no reference to it ever having a bishop. It may have been collegiate, as next door is a large Jesuit College, although again the church was not Jesuit itself. Whatever it is deservedly one of the most famous churches in Central Europe, and is unusual in having no tower but the main roof of the church is carried up into three turrets along its length. The approach is along the terrace of the College with its statues and fine views across the town to St James church. The distant view of St Barbara was taken from alongside St James church. The building is C14-C16 in the main but was left incomplete until the C19. The wealth from the town's silver mines paid for it and these became less productive in the late medieval period. Walking around there is a wealth of carving, with figures leaning out to you, and the singing banjo player was my favourite! The array of flying buttresses are also astonishing. The lofty interior blew me away, the upper part of the nave pillars seem to twist and turn into the flamboyant vaulting ribs. Some baroque fittings are preserved and also some of the side chapels and ambulatory contain wall paintings. this was my reason for visiting Kutna Hora and it did not disappoint at all.

St John Nepomuk, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

In contrast to Prague, the main sights in the town are medieval Gothic, and there is only the one baroque church here and this is it. Compared to the churches in Prague, this appears a much quieter affair, with simpler decoration and detailing. It was built 1734-52 and has a busy facade with a pair of small towers to the narrow street. Under the Communists the church became a civil defence store, a fire station and a waste store, and much of its decoration was damaged or stolen. A major restoration was finished in 2000 and the church was handed back to the catholic church. There are a number of very upset angels inside.

St James, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

The main parish church of the town lies just behind the main square (where we partook of a large beer for 90p) and was built 1350-86, although work continued well into the following century. It is another hall church, but preserves some baroque altarpieces, including the high altar of 1678. There was a statue of a saint with a crutch, not sure which - perhaps one of our iconography experts knows! However I loved the small figures of the silver miners in the south aisle.

St Mary, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

From Sedlec a 15 minute walk along a main road brought us to the edge of the medieval town of Kutna Hora. The first church is the medieval St Mary , a tall hall-church with a west tower. The tower was open but a locked screen denied entry to the church although there was a good view of the interior from here.

Cemetery Chapel and Ossuary, Sedlec, Czech Republic

Probably has more visitors than the abbey church, this small Gothic church is raised over a vast crypt. The upper church is quite plain, but below the bones of countless people are tidily stockpiled and used to create decorative features. I particularly liked the bone chandeliers!

Abbey Church of Our Lady, Sedlec, Czech Republic

The one excursion we did from Prague took us to Kutna Hora, some 50-60 miles from the city.

The main line station for Kutna Hora is closer to the suburb of Sedlec than the city itself. To get to the city you have to take a peculiar little single carriage train. However this was quite handy as a visit to Sedlec formed part of the plans for the day. The abbey church was built in the C13 but destroyed during the hussite wars and restored in an odd stylised baroque gothic. Window tracery was removed and the vaults decorated with plaster ribbed patterns. A major restoration took place here in 2001. The crisp and cool lines of the interior show especially well in the view taken from the west triforium. I am sure the interior once held many more baroque fittings and there were more coloured frescoes than currently are preserved.  The east end has a large staircase on the north side which leads to the inside of the lean-to roofs above the aisle vaults and to the small gallery over the west end for a splendid view of the interior..

Monday Evening

A couple of end of day shots as I crossed back over the river to the hotel, including one of the so-called Dancing House.

Holy Trinity (Kostel Nejsvetejší Trojice), Nove Mesto, Prague

Holy Trinity church was built 1708-13 and belonged to the Trinitarian Monastery. When the Trinitarians were expelled the buildings became part of a military establishment but this closed and the monastery was demolished. The church was given to the Greek community. It has three naves and a central dome, but was locked when I called.

Our Lady of the Snows (Kostel Panny Marie Sněžné), New Town, Prague

A very prominent church outside of the old walls in the Nove Mesto when viewed across the rooftops, but at street level almost impossible to see. It stands at the bottom of Wenceslas Square tucked away in the side streets. It was founded for the Carmelite order in 1347 and building of the current church which is on a huge scale took place 1375-97 when work was halted by the Hussite wars and this church became a centre for radical Hussitism before the Carmelites returned. With the church still unfinished they left in the early C16  The ruins of the church and the adjoining monastery were given to the Franciscan order in 1604 and they completed the vault and built the west front. They remained here until 1950 when the Communists expelled them but returned here in 1989.

The church is in fact only the choir of what was intended to be a church to rival St Vitus Cathedral, and one which was to be the coronation church. A courtyard to the west occupies the site of the intended nave and aisles, parts of the foundations of which are incorporated into the walls. Nothing quite prepares you for the interior. It is Gothic with an east apse, complete with the expected Baroque furnishings. The High Altar dates from 1625 and soars almost to the vault, and it is the latter which took my breath away. This is the tallest church interior in the city. 

St Gall (Kostel sv. Havla), Old Town, Prague

The church of St Gall or St Havel was built 1232-39, and rebuilt in Gothic form a century later with twin towers. All was given a baroque makeover in the late C17, and there were further embellishments in the C18 including reconstruction of a new west facade in front of the towers towers and some additional side chapels. The church's north wall incorporates small shops below  and buildings also adjoin its east and south sides. The west front however towards an open square is impressive with its three convex bays. Sadly the interior could only be glimpsed from the west door but apparently some Gothic features still survive amongst the baroque grandeur. Keen observers will spot the no photography sign!

St Salvator's Protestant Church, Old Town, Prague

My churchdar must have been broken, or confused by the nearby church of sv Duch as I failed to notice the apse of this church down a side street. Luckily my friend pointed it out. This church was a new foundation in 1611 and has always been protestant, being built for a German Lutheran congregation. Ownership has since passed to the Czech Evangelical Church and the church today is largely a rebuilding of the later half of the C19. However to me the church reminds me of early C17 churches in Germany, with a mixture of classical and Gothic forms. The church was locked but I managed to shoot parts of the interior through an open barred window in the vestibule.

St James the Great, Old Town, Prague

I had walked by here the day before but the church was locked (it closes at 1530). It has three towers, two dissimilar ones flank the west front (with its unusual ornate sculptures over the lower windows), and a third stands at the NE.

It is also known as the church of the Minorites and it looks suspiciously like a medieval church has been given a baroque makeover inside and out. Nave and aisles, and long aisleless apsidal chancel. The latter has three storied structures to the north and south which open into the church by round arches and little balustrades embellish the upper two floors, each with a centrally placed large urn. It is extremely handsome but compared to some of the other churches a little jaded in its decoration. The multitude of altarpieces are all of dark wood with grimy paintings and the walls are yellowish rather than white; the frescoes too could do with a clean.

St George's Basilica, Hradcany, Prague

In the classic views of Prague from the river or Charles Bridge with St Vitus Cathedral in the castle, two towers can be seen to the right of the cathedral. This is the Romanesque basilica of St George. It is the oldest church building in the city but I personally am not too sure what features are original and what are "restoration", especially the nave and the towers. However there are extensive remains of frescoes and murals inside, so maybe much of the structure if not always the detailing is medieval. The two towers flanking the east end were added in the rebuilding of the church after a fire in 1142. The east end is raised over a crypt. Later still of course the C14 apsidal SE chapel, the C17 classical west front and the small domed chapel at the SW corner.

St Vitus Cathedral, Hradcany, Prague - Curiosum

On the day I was here a party of beauty contestants seemed to follow me around the castle area, although the security guards and hoards of photographers made seeing them difficult! As my tour of the cathedral finished they were posing in one of the side chapels and I managed a sneaky shot of some of these "Miss Princess of the World 2011" entrants. Miss Mexico won apparently.

St Vitus Cathedral, Hradcany, Prague - Selected Details